Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The Palestine Exception to Free Speech: A Movement Under Attack in the US

From Citizens for Constitutional Rights
Dear CCR Supporter,
Today, CCR and Palestine Legal released a report, The Palestine Exception to Free Speech: A Movement Under Attack in the US, documenting for the first time the widespread and growing suppression of Palestinian human rights advocacy in the United States.
As the US movement for Palestinian rights grows, Israel advocacy groups have intensified their efforts to stifle it. Palestine Legal responded to nearly 300 incidents of suppression between January 2014 and June 2015, each involving some form of constitutionally-protected activity. Eighty-five percent of the incidents including event cancellations, baseless legal complaints, administrative disciplinary actions, firings, and false accusations of terrorism and antisemitism targeted students and scholars on more than 65 campuses across the country. The report contains testimony from advocates who have been targeted for their speech and includes an appendix detailing more than fifty campus-related case studies. It calls on university administrators, federal and state lawmakers, and other government officials to safeguard First Amendment rights and defend academic freedom. 
Read the reportwatch videos featuring students and scholars discussing the backlash they have experienced, and find other advocacy materials at https://ccrjustice.org/the-palestine-exception
Help us raise awareness about the suppression of Palestinian human rights advocacy by posting about the report on social media (using the hashtag #PalestineException).  Please also share the report and supporting materials with your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors. 
For those in New York City, join us for CCR First Wednesday on October 7th where we will discuss the report and be joined by CCR client and friend Professor Steven Salaita! Learn more about CCR™s Palestinian solidarity work here and about CCR™s work fighting the criminalization of dissent here.
As always, we thank you for your continued support.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Trunk Therapy: How Elephants Are Helping Thailand's Autistic Kids

LAMPANG, Thailand— Natthanan Sukon says very little and stares blankly into the distance as she follows her therapist into the forest clearing. Then, the elephants arrive.
The 14-year-old breaks out into a broad smile and yelps with excitement as she is helped onto an one of the animal's backs for a ride. Her mother is smiling too: "I hope they can help my child to develop," she says.
Sukon's smile is the result of a program — believed to be the world's first — seeking to help children with autism through elephant interactions.
"The elephants are great therapists," explained Prasop Tipprasert, founder of the program which relies on two gentle giants called Nua Un and May for the therapy.
Image: Natthanan Sukon riding an elephant
Natthanan Sukon rides an elephant. Ian Williams / NBC News
The program is run by occupational therapists from Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand. On the day NBC News visited, nine children had traveled from that city to an elephant conservation center in nearby Lampang where the therapy takes place.
The kids spent the morning riding, feeding, washing and scrubbing the elephants, followed by ball games.
"Chang! Chang! Chang!" [Elephant! Elephant, Elephant!] they chanted, as they caught trunk-tossed balls.
Tipprasert started the program eight years ago after witnessing the effect elephants had on his own son — then 3 years old — who he said used to be withdrawn.
"Elephants gave me my son back," he said.
Prasop Tipprasert, the founder of the program, with a model elephant he uses to first teach kids how to ride. Ian Williams
The animals produced a strong and lasting emotional response, and Tipprasert took the idea to therapists at the university.
Since then, around forty children a year have come through the program — although the frequency of sessions depends on limited funding.
Maethisa Pongsaksri, an associate professor at Chiang Mai University, said there has been strong anecdotal evidence of progress.
"Behavior has improved, and also their cognitive function. It has improved their relationships with their family and also with friends at school," she said.
Animal-assisted therapy for developmental disabilities is not a new phenomenon. Dolphins, dogs and horses have been used elsewhere — though experts are divided about their impact, with many skeptical about the effectiveness.
"It would be nice to do some peer-reviewed research. We are open to that," said John Roberts, Director of the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, which supports the program. "But at the moment I see happy kids, and kids getting happier as time goes by."
Children ride the elephants. Ian Williams / NBC News
In addition to eliciting an emotional response and boosting confidence, each element of the elephant program is designed to develop specific skills. Games are designed to foster group activity and interaction, while riding an elephant bareback builds balance and posture.
The activity of scrubbing down the elephants, who helpfully lie on their sides, was designed to overcome any fear of sticky or prickly surfaces.
For the conservation center — which mainly looks after elephants put out of work after logging was outlawed in Thailand — the therapy program has been one of its most successful ventures.
The two pachyderm therapists are both female and were carefully chosen for their temperament and intelligence. Eleven-year-old Nua Un is regarded as the smartest, having come out top in problem-solving tests.
They were trained using what the center calls positive reinforcement — receiving rewards for certain actions — and not using the sort of abuse activists say exists at some training centers.
"They do bring out emotions, bring out feelings in people," said Roberts, for whom elephant therapy is a win-win situation.
While he said he'd "much prefer all the elephants in the world to be wild," he noted how Thailand has to find food and gainful employment for an estimated 3,500 in captivity.
"This a good way of doing it, and it also helps," Roberts said.
Natthanan seemed to be enjoying the afternoon.
"This is fun! When's the next ride?" she asked, with an enthusiasm and spontaneity that delighted her mother. "I liked giving food to the elephants."
Image: Natthanan Sukon feeding an elephant
Natthanan Sukon feeds an elephant. Ian Williams / NBC News
As the other children from Chiang Mai returned to their bus to head back to the city, some smiled and waved at the elephants. It was a very different mood from earlier in the day, when they first stepped nervously into the forest clearing.
Tipprasert, the program's founder, said it is enormously rewarding for him to see the children smile.
"I think elephants really have something," he said. 

Saturday, September 26, 2015

No more macho men using the sacred mountain Chomolungma, "Mt. Everest to build or repair their egos


Japanese climber who lost nine fingers nears Everest summit

  • 9 hours ago
  •  
  • From the sectionAsia
Nobukazu Kuriki speaks during an interview in Kathmandu on 22 August 2015Image copyrightReuters
Image captionKuriki is the only climber attempting to summit Everest this autumn season
A Japanese mountaineer who has previously lost nine fingers to frostbite is nearing the final stage of an attempt to climb Mount Everest.
Latest contact suggests that Nobukazu Kuriki, 33, has reached the South Col, where he will rest before a final push later on Saturday to reach the summit.
Mr Kuriki is the first person to attempt the climb since Nepal's devastating earthquake in April.
It will be his fifth try at reaching the summit in the past six years.
Mr Kuriki is expected to rest on the South Col for about seven to eight hours before attempting the final leg of the climb.
It is not uncommon for climbers to set out for the summit late at night to reach the top around dawn, Ang Tsering, the president of the Nepalese Mountaineering Association, told the BBC.
Tackling the final stretch overnight allows climbers to reach the summit and descend in daylight, and the lack of heating from the Sun can mean lower winds.
"We are very much hoping he will be successful and come back OK," Mr Tsering said.
Mr Kuriki, who arrived in Nepal more than a month ago to begin acclimatising, is so far the only person scheduled to climb Everest during the challenging autumn season.
He is following the same route used by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay when they became the first people to reach the summit in 1953.
Mount Everest with the Khumbu Icefall in the foregroundImage copyrightScience Photo Library
Image captionNobukazu Kuriki is close to reaching the summit of Everest, in the top right of this image
Mr Kuriki prefers to climb in winter, alone and with minimal gear. "This is the purest form of climbing and it is worth the extra danger," he has said.
He has taken on Everest alone four times in the previous six years but has been forced to abandon the climb each time with the summit in view.
In 2012, he lost all of his fingers and one thumb after spending two days in a snow hole at 27,000 feet (8,230m) in temperatures lower than -20C.
His injuries present significant challenges in even the most basic climbing manoeuvres.
"I do feel nervous and afraid," he told Reuters shortly after arriving in Nepal.
"This is only natural before attempting the challenge of climbing Everest, particularly after the earthquake and at this time of year."
Nepal's lucrative climbing industry was destroyed by the 25 April earthquake which killed more than 9,000 people and the avalanches that followed.
If Mr Kuriki is successful, his climb may help to reinvigorate the ailing industry, correspondents say.


 Mt. Everest's real name is Chomolungma which means "Goddess Mother of the Earth." It is a sacred mountain that spiritually unaware men are using for bragging rights and general ego building. The men and their retinue have trashed the mountain leaving garbage along their routes. The Sherpas make their living off serving these macho men so they are now also without spiritual consciousness of Chomolungma. It is a Goddess Mountain, not for men's trespass. It should held as the sacred ground it is and treated as such.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Cuba: Pope Francis meets Fidel Castro after Havana mass

BBC News


Pope Francis meets Cuba's former president, Fidel CastroImage copyrightAP
Image captionThe two discussed world affairs and gave each other books as gifts
Pope Francis has met Cuba's former President, Fidel Castro, after celebrating mass in front of tens of thousands of people in Havana.
The two men discussed world affairs and religion, in what the Vatican called an "informal and friendly" encounter.
Before the meeting, Pope Francis gave a homily in which he urged Cubans to serve each other rather than ideology.
It is the first visit by the Pope to the Communist-ruled island, on a trip that will later take him to the US.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi described the meeting between Pope Francis and Fidel Castro, which took place at the former Cuban leader's home, as low-key.
They exchanged books: Pope Francis gave Mr Castro three titles, including a book of sermons by Mr Castro's former teacher, while in return the Pope received Fidel and Religion, a collection of interviews with a Brazilian priest.
People look on as Pope Francis performs MassImage copyrightGetty Images
Image captionPope Francis urged Cubans gathered in Revolution Square to "care for one another"
The Pope performs Mass in front of a sculpture of Ernesto Image copyrightAP
Image captionThe square is overlooked by a sculpture of the revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara
A Cuban dissident is prevented by security personnel from approaching the popemobileImage copyrightAFP
Image captionThree dissidents were arrested at the edge of the square after attempting to hand out flyers
Earlier in the day, thousands streamed into Havana's Revolution Square to hear the Pope.
Security services were seen arresting at least three people who were shouting and attempting to distribute flyers at the edge of the square as the Mass got under way.
During his homily the Pope spoke of how "Christians are constantly called to set aside their own wishes and desires, their pursuit of power, and to look instead to those who are most vulnerable".
He also warned against ideology, saying: "Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people".
Grey line

At the scene: the BBC's Will Grant

Media captionThe Pope was cheered by crowds as he rode through the streets of Havana, as Will Grant reports
From my vantage point, it was hard to gauge exactly how many people filled the enormous Revolution Square in Havana, but their enthusiasm was clear to everyone watching.
The Pope was greeted by thousands in good voice and high spirits, despite the suffocating Caribbean heat.
It was a rare sight - the iconography of revolution such as the huge cast-iron Che Guevara mural juxtaposed against the images of religion, including a vast huge picture of Jesus Christ. Or Raul Castro embracing Pope Francis.
Once again, it felt like evidence that times are changing on the communist island.
In terms of his homily, the Pope discussed ideas of brotherhood and unity but the more overt political message was aimed not at Cuba, but Colombia.
He urged the Colombian government and the left-wing Farc rebel group to persevere with the talks being held in Havana, saying they could not allow "another failure on the path of peace and reconciliation".
Grey line
Cuba's President Raul Castro, who is not a practicing Catholic, attended, as did Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, president of the Pope's native Argentina.
The Pope praised improved co-operation between the Cuban government and the Church on Saturday, but called for the Church in Cuba to have "the freedom and the means" to pursue its mission.
Both his predecessors, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, visited the island during their papacy.
Pope Francis is due to fly to Washington on Tuesday. He has been credited with helping the recent thaw in diplomatic ties between Cuba and the US.
After his arrival on Saturday, he hailed improving ties between the two countries as "an example of reconciliation for the whole world".
But he also urged both Cuba and the US to "persevere on the path" of detente.
This is how it's done--a Good Man steps forth to set the example that breaks the Old War paradigms holding us all hostage to old or ancient territorial wars of people we are no longer are and haven't been for a long time.

Monday, September 07, 2015

BDS is working! Israeli bubble maker that employed Scarlett Johansson is closing a factory

Washington Post

   
 A battle over Israel’s future is being fought at a factory that once employed Scarlett Johansson to tout its bubbly water.
Facing calls for an international boycott, along with falling revenues and stock prices, the carbonation company called SodaStream is shutting down its operation in the occupied Palestinian territory next month and moving to a larger new facility in Israel’s Negev desert.
Leaders of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement claim the company’s withdrawal from the West Bank just east of Jerusalem is a big win for the Palestinian cause. Although hundreds of Palestinians will soon be out of jobs, BDS leaders say it is worth it.
“This is a clear-cut BDS victory against an odiously complicit Israeli company,” said Omar Bar­ghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement. Israel should not be allowed to exploit its occupation by operating factories in Palestinian lands, he said.
Daniel Birnbaum, the chief executive of SodaStream, said the closure of the West Bank factory had “zero” to do with the boycott campaign against his company and its “brand ambassador,” the actor Johansson, who last year performed in a Super Bowl ad for the machines.
SodaStream ad featuring Scarlett Johansson
Play Video0:31
Scarlett Johansson starred in SodaStream's 2014 Super Bowl ad. (Courtesy of SodaStream)
Instead, Birnbaum accused BDS critics of robbing ordinary Palestinians of well-paying jobs.
“It’s propaganda. It’s politics. It’s hate. It’s anti-Semitism,” he said.
Birnbaum called the factory “an island of peace in the Middle East,” where Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze make home-carbonation machines that retail for $79. BDS activists called it apartheid.
The skirmish over who is right and who is hurt by the boycott movement comes as Israeli leaders express growing fear that a campaign of “delegitimization” against the Jewish state is more dangerous than Islamist militants from Hamas and Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government vowed to spend $25 million to combat BDS efforts. At a conference in June hosted by the Las Vegas casino magnate, GOP megadonor and Netanyahu supporter Sheldon Adelson, as much as $50 million more was pledged for anti-BDS campaigns by wealthy American Jews.
Israeli officials insist that BDS has not hurt the economy — yet — although they don’t act like it.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported last month that Israeli military intelligence units have been tasked with tracking BDS groups aboard, as they would terror organizations.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called academic boycotts against Israel a“strategic threat of the first order” at a conference he hosted at his official residence in May, when Israeli university presidents vented their anxieties about blocked collaborations.
Boycott activists say they seek to win Palestinian rights by applying the same kind of pressure used in the 1980s against apartheid South Africa toward Israel, whose military has occupied the West Bank for 48 years on land the Palestinians want for a future state. Israel says the lands are disputed.
Israel says the BDS movement doesn’t just want Israel to withdraw; it wants to destroy it. The Israeli government says the BDS call for a “right of return” for millions of Palestinian refugees and descendants who were forced from or fled Israel in 1948 would overwhelm the Jewish state.
“We are in the midst of a great struggle being waged against the state of Israel, an international campaign to blacken its name,” Netanyahu warnedearlier this summer.
BDS activists say they are on a roll. The boycott movement convinced hip-hop artist Lauryn Hill not to perform in Israel — although Mariah Carey played in Tel Aviv and toured the SodaStream plant to “support Palestinian and Jewish coexistence.”
Activists claimed that the French company Transdev, half-owned by the infrastructure giant Veolia, pulled out of Jerusalem’s light-rail system because of the BDS movement.
The tramway — frequently pelted by Palestinian rock-throwers — connects Israel’s West Jerusalem with occupied East Jerusalem. The French said the decision was all business and no BDS.
At the new SodaStream factory in Israel, Palestinian workers said they like their jobs, although they weren’t happy about the new location and their four-hour round-trip commute on buses and through military checkpoints.
Ahmed Abdel Wahid, 31, is one of only 36 Palestinians who worked at the SodaStream plant in the West Bank to find a job at the new facility in Israel.
“I like it here. It’s a good work. It’s good money,” Wahid said. “We are treated as equals here.”
Wahid said he would rather work closer to home in the West Bank. “But there are no jobs and even if there are jobs, the pay is rotten,” he said. He makes about $1,400 a month, he said.
At its peak, 600 Palestinians worked for SodaStream in the West Bank, but the Israeli government gave the company only 130 permits for Palestinians to work at the facility inside Israel. Most of those jobs have not been filled because Israel will not allow young, male, unmarried Palestinians to work in Israel, and many Palestinian women don’t feel comfortable with such a long commute.
BDS co-founder Barghouti said the Palestinian workers backed the boycotts. “They all know that resisting Israel’s regime of occupation, colonialism and apartheid comes at a price, sometimes steep, but freedom, justice and equality are well worth it to them,” he said.
Bassem Eid, a Palestinian political analyst who opposes the boycott in the West Bank, said, “We pay the boycott lip service, but there are no jobs in the West Bank, so BDS asks of the Palestinians, please, suffer just a little bit more. For what? For who? For how many more years?”
The BDS movement burst into the mainstream last year when activists targeted SodaStream and Johansson. At the time, Johansson served a similar, although unpaid, role for Oxfam. The charity and Johansson parted waysafter she refused to sever her ties with SodaStream.
Oxfam said businesses that operate in Jewish settlements in the West Bank “further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support.” Jewish settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal by the international community, though Israel disputes that.
During a tour of the new plant, SodaStream’s Birnbaum said world leaders should come to his factory.
“We respect each other. It’s family for me,” said Hanadi Ghoruf, 38, one of the few Palestinian women to make the transition from the West Bank to Israel. She pointed at fellow workers on the assembly line, who smiled and waved.
Barghouti said the argument that boycotts will hurt poor Palestinian workers “is not only disingenuous and intended to divert attention from the illegality of all Israeli colonies . . . but plagiarizes from South African apartheid companies that used this exact argument.”
Ohad Cohen, head of the foreign trade administration at the Israeli Ministry of Economy, said now that SodaStream has left the West Bank, there aren’t that many big Israeli brands left for BDS to go after. “We are talking about maybe only 100 companies; their exports are only between 1 and 2 percent of Israel's total exports,” he said.
Ruth Eglash in Jerusalem contributed to his report.

Steve Lewis Blog

A Biomystical Christian activist perspective on current events

We are Holy One

We are Holy One
Altarnative

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
Prophesy bearer for four religious traditions, revealer of Christ's Sword, revealer of Josephine bearing the Spirit of Christ, revealer of the identity of God, revealer of the Celestial Torah astro-theological code within the Bible. Celestial Torah Christian Theologian, Climax Civilization theorist and activist, Eco-Village Organizer, Master Psychedelic Artist, Inventor of the Next Big Thing in wearable tech, and always your Prophet-At-Large.